Short-stem milo-maize header



April 17, 1928. *1,666,824 w. B. JoHNsoN Y SHORT STEM MILO MAIZE HEADER r n Filed Feb. 11, 1925 6 sheets-sheet 1 ve 1 1A o R t I i I 1%.* l Q n D E q l Q D D D ich l d I E H L o 1 m l@ W i@ 3% f y w ,f .y

l l N TJ. qa Il, n E u N 4 l l l D L- l 1 D "I l o @i l N l k l u l \/l Q Q I Q N h '5 L` 9 w n /"3 x A .qv 2Q l L Tl 5:

Z//"e/:Buzwwz wnuzssy f ATTORNEY April 17, 1928. 1,666,824

w. B. JoHNsoN SHORT STEM MILO MAIZE HEADER Filed Feb. 1l. 1925 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR April 17, 1928. 1,666,824

W. B. JOHNSON SHORT STEM MILO MAIZE HEADER Filed Feb. 11. 1925 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 War/97223. @fo/272.57071 INVENTOR wrrnass ATTOIRN'EY April 17, 1928.

W.. B. JOHNSON SHORT "STEM MILov MAIzE HEADER Filed Feb. 11, 1925 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 Y INVENTOR ATTORNEY April 17, 1928.

W. B. JOHNSON SHORT STEM MILO MAIZE HEADER Filed Feb- 1l, 1925 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 ATTORNEY WSVQMWM for millo maize and Patented Apr. 17, 1928.

One obj provision header.

Meer TENT per 1 WARREN 41B: @wenn perecer;

' f Snom-STEM LMILOaMAIzE HEAD-En.

1 appl'regimiA fue@ February 11,41925.

ect of my present invention is the of a "generally eliielent milo maize Another object the provision'in,ii-header other crops of eicient means `for eliminatinglong stems 'from the harvested Another obect efficient means for dehveringsev-A.

header of y ered heads .toa receptacle or to a conveyer.

i of thisspecilieation,

' Another object is the header of andthe like from the heads,

Anqther object is the lpro'vlsion heads.

is the provision in such a provision in such a for blowing leaves 'efiieient means in such a header of elhcient meansA 'for discharging stalks from the apparatus after severed'from the stalks.A

Another object headery of for delive alongside heads are is the provision in such a efficient elevating-conveyer means ring the heads toa the apparatus. Y

Other object'sand practicaladvantages of the invention will be 'fully understood from the following description and Claim-s when the same drawings,

' Figure tion ofthe right `'hand side of the header'.

connection with the accompanying and forming part in"f`whichz showing the major `porare v read in 1 is `a view constituting the preferred embodimentf'of my inventionlin "side elevation,

the right hand ground wheel being omitted, and the header be eeptacle. Figure ing shown fas prow'fidjedr `witha reor `the reception ofsevered heads; 2 is a 'horizontal section of the same taken onV the Yline '2f-2 of Figurev 1, looking downwardly.

Figure ing the header as equipped 3 is a fu-llftopplan view Abut showwi-th an elevating conveyer in lieu of the ,beforementioned receptacle Figure bodiineut Figure 4 is a rear elevation of the lemshown in Figure 3. 5 is an enlarged rfragu'ientury section Vtaken in the plane 'indicatedby the line 5-5v of 'Figure 2.

FigureV from "a viewpoint at 6 is a rdetail v side elevation' taken the vvright of Figure 5 and showing portion of 4the structure whereby i stalk passage "isf formed.

r`Figure partly' in section',

the peculiar and' advantageous 7' i's'a View, Apartly in plan Vand illustrative of a portion of the structure whereby saidu passage "1s formed. Figure Seis ,a transverse section, taken-in vehicle moved Serial No. 8,527. y the plane indicated bythe rline :8.-8 of K:Figllgre2. 'I

Figure 9 is la det-ail section taken'appreximately on the .line 9-9 offFigure 11 l Figure 1()I is `'a .cross-section oni-the *line 10-10` of vFigure. y, l Figure 11v-isgadetailfragmentary sectidn on the line 111-11 ofFigure- F-igure rl2 i is an enlarged detail View vfill-ue` trative of a portionofftheQdrivng connection to the .endless .apron 'tlre'eleyating conveyer.V i"' "Figure 18 isA a detail longitudinal :section ofthe Velevating conveyer.

.14--14 .offFigure `Similar `numeralsof referencefdesignate corresponding AAparts in :all of the views of the drawings.' j Y novel Aheader rcomprises .a .main frame 1V of' appropriate constructiemsupported by :Figure 1411's a crosssection the lline ground wheels y2 and 3, rotationvofthe ground wheel- 2 Ibeing @depended upon to drive working .parts offthe header, 'and' the said ground wheel2 tbeing therefore appropriately `.connect-ed, kpreferably7 the conventional manner, to. a transverse shaft ,r4 Aon which.are,lbeveledgears15, 6, 7 and 8 as lbest, shown in 'Figure 4; At 9" is a driver -seat supported` on the mainframe i-l at theleft handsid'e thereof. i

: Insthe embodunent shown :infFigures and 2,'the header is provided' .with :a .receps friction roller 'designedvtbear on one side wallof the body of the vehicle. AV cable 14v n' is connected to the trough 1=1and isadjustably connectedy at 15 tothe main frame l so that the elevating conveyer may be maintained at various anglesl of'in'cli'nation as condition requires. In addition f to the trough 11 the elevating conveyer 1() includes a pulley 16, fixed tothe shaft 12, an outer idlerjpulley 17, an endless-.apron 18 with transverse cleats19, anda support- 20'- inthe trough 11 disposed 4under the upper stretch ofthe apron 18 in order to prevent sagging of said apron. As will presently appear milo maize heads are discharged upon the upper stretch of the apron 18 and about the point designated by the arrow numbered 21 in Figurel. i

At 22 is a tongue or pole connected to the main fram-e of the header and designed for the attachment of draft animals.

As will be readily understood'by comparison of Figures 1, 2 `and 3 my novel header comprises forward divergent guides 23, and it also comprises a longitudinal idler roller 24 and a roller 25, the latter roller being designed to exert a downward and forward pull of pressure on the stalks as they traverse the longitudinal passage of the header as hereinafter described. The roller 25 may be and preferably is olf the type disclosed in my contemporary application filed January 14, 1924, Serial Number 686,155, the roller inthe said contemporary application being designated by 2l. I do not desire, however, to be 'understood as confining myself to the roller disclosed in my contemporary application inasmuch as any other lroller having the capacity of function indicatedA may be employed without affecting my present vinvention.

At 26, Figures' l, 2 and 8, are upright guards which have flared or divergent. upper portions and also have flared forward portions and are appropriately fixed to :the frame 1.l The guards 26 are also shown in Figure 5v and by comparing Figure 5 with Figures. 6 and 7 and the other figures of the drawings, the before mentioned passage for the stalks will be understooda-s comprising a fixed longitudinal inclined beam 27, a fixed frame 28 arranged in spaced and parallel relation to the beam 27, a housing 29 fixed to theframe 28, springs 30 and 31 arranged in the housing 29 in the relation best shown in Figures 5 and 7, and a flexible pressure member made up of a plurality of links32, flexibly or hingedly connected at 83 and having right angled disposed portions 84 sheathed and movable rectilinearly in superposed spacedJplates forming a portion of the frame 28 and providing a guide 35. The forward link 32 is flared as best shown in Figure 7 and is pivotally connected vat 36 to the frame 28, while the rearmost link is fixedly connected at 40 through the frame 28 as shown in Fig. 2. `It will also be noticed that springs 8O and 31 are interposed between and connected to the links and theV housing 29, the springs 8O being designed to press the links 32 toward the beam 27 andthe springs 81 being designed to prevent undue pressure of the links 82 against the stalks, designated by 41 in the passage which is :indicated by 42 in Figure 7. From this it will be understood that the links 32 are designed toaffordat alltimes a passage' commensurate in width with the stalks 41 so as to adequately guide the stalks and preclude downward slipping of the heads, but it is to be understood that the pressure on the links 32 is never strong enough to cause the Vsaid links to grip the stalks. In other words the links 82 are subjected to sufficient pressure toy make the width Aof the passage v42 `suitable for thesiZe of the stalks 41, and while the links 82 are held firmly against the stalks for the purpose indicated they donot grip the stalks. At 45 my improved header comprisesV a mechanism for severing the stalks .from the ground, the' said mechanism including a. fixed finger bar and a reciprocatory knife bar, the latter being connect-ed by a. pitman 46 with a crank disk 47 on a longitudinal shaft 48 which carriesa beveled gear .49 in meshwith the beveled gear on'the transverse shaft 4. I would also have it understood that the shaft 48 carries a pulley V50, connected by a belt 5l with the roller25 for the rotation of the latter about its axis.

The severed stalks designated by? 41 lare moifedrearwardly through the passage42 by fingers 5501i asprocket belt A56,v the said belt 56 being mounted on a forward idler sprocket gear 57 and being alsomounted on a rear sprocket gear 58 which latter is fixed to a shaft 59 having at 6() .a'beveled gear meshed with i shaft4. y i

For assisting in the rearward movement of the stalks a finger bearing sprocket belt 61V is employed, the said belt 61 being mounted ona :forward idler gear 62 and being also mounted on a rear sprocket gear68 fixed to the shaft 59 so as to 59 which as before described is inpconnection with and drixf'enrfrom the transverse shaft 4.

For the discharge of stalks from the apparatus I provide the improvec v means best shown in Figures 2 and 9 of the drawings, the said means comprising a plate 70, fixed at 71 to a p rods 72 fixed at 73 to a. portion of the main frame and spaced apart one above the other and designed to yieldingly press thestalks against the inner pendent portion `of the plate after the manner shown in Figure 10.' As best shown in Figure 9 the forward portions of the plate 70 and rods 72are shaped to form a flared mouth'for the free rearward passage of the stalks. `The said mouth is arranged in the relation shownin Figure 9 to the rotary saw 74 for severing the heads from the stalks, and in addition to the means described the stalk dischz-irging mechanism comprises a finger bearing belt 75 which is mounted on a rear idler sprocket gear 76 and is also mounted on a forward sprocket gear 77 which is fixed to the before mentioned shaft 59 so that the belt 75 will be rotated by the shaft portion of the main frame, and

Ithe beveled. gear 8 lof. the

lim

also be ydriven'troni thegtransverse shafted, Asappears in Figure 2l the .rear endsot the rods i2 are lettv free,.andvin this connection, l' would have it understood that thesaid rods72are possessed of resiliency so as to J yield when conditions demand; `Manifestly whenthe stalks pass from betweenthe rear endsbtthe plate y'I'Oand the rods 72 the stalks will be liinpellfed rearwardly' by v.the fingersot'the belt 75 and in that 'way-will be discharged to the ground and clearof the machine. t Y v The head severingzsaw Mis fixed toa shaft 80, Figur-e 4, and the .said Shaft 80 is'provided at 81 with a beveled gearnieshedwith the beveled gear .7 s o that the saw 74 will be driven from the before mentioned shaft-4.

As will be'understood from Figure l the saw 74A is located in ahorizontal plane above that of the kbelt 7 5 and below7 thato'fa finger bearing belt `82, the said finger bearing belt 82 is `mounted onta rear idler sprocket gear 83 carried byv a bracketarin 8,4 onthe main traine, and said belt 82 is also ,mounted on and driven by a sprocket gear 8 5rfixe`d on the before mentioned shaft 59. In thisconnection it would'be noticed that a. right hand trough 86, Figures 2 andy 8, is fixedtolan'd extendsy inwardly and rearwardly from 'the rear endoiI one side ofthe'beiorementioned passage l2,and .that one stretch of the belt 82 has its fingers 87 arranged .to moveabove the inner portion of the trough Sthy .By virtue oft vthis .construction and relative arrangenient. of parts'it. will benianifest that after the heads rare severed .from thestalks the heads will `be moved before thefingers 87 fto the rear end ofthe trough 86 where'the'said fingers will be caused to drop into 4either' the receptacle 9 or ythe errlevating conveyerlft) asthe caseinaybe.

In order to free provide a conduit 9() having its discharge end Slt-arranged as shown in Figures 2.and 4 relative to the rearfend of the trough .86` so thata blast of air discharged l'roin ^thefsaid conduit 90 will operate tof'free leaves from the heads andzto blow the said leaves vintov the atmosphere without 'nterfering witlithe gravitation of the heads into fthe receptacle or the elevating y'conve'yer lOwasl vthe lcase may 'Aniniportant feature of in y, invention resides in the veinployinent{of-thebelt 9 3, Fig-y ures 1 and 3, for eliininatinglong stems .by forming an'angle with the before .described portions at opposite side-s of the inclined stalk passage 42. Said belt 93', is provided with cleats 9a and is mounted on a. :forward idlerv roller'95 andfonfa rear driveroller 96, the said lrive roller 96 being fixed to a bev# eled gear 97 which is ,nieshed withabeveled gear 98 on-the shaft59 yso vvthat the'said belt 93 'will also .be driven through the shaft -59 from thetransverse shaft 4. z

the heads from '.leavesj, I

' belts 56 and 61. vIncident y The rol1er`96 is carried byvza bracket 100 adjust-ably .fined'at toa portion ofthe main; frame 1, and will alsobe noted'vthart thebeveledgear 98, iscapable ofi .being Aad@l 'ustably vfixed at `various `points inthe height ofthe Shaft 59,..V Also .carried by the ybracket 10.0 is k,a s11b-frame, 10,2, Figures 1 v,and 11, andjbetwe'enthe sides ofthe sub-,frame 102 is'fixed a plate 10Bv which .rests above rthe lower stretch of A.the -belt 93 and has forits function to'vprevent upward giving or deflection of the said .zvlower stretch.' fBeing driven as stated at Yarv rate Vin conformity .with that ofthe rearward movement yof the stalks, and as the belt llnoveswith ,the belt exerts a downward pressurey onfthe heads and operates topush the stalks downwardly through :the passage42, and .when the lower stretchof the belt-93 passes over thesaw the distancey between the :belt ,and v the passage 42 inthe trough isapproxirnatelythe length of the lieads. that the belt 93 only acts on the stalks'A that the roller 25 which is .preferably fabricated tails ltodraw down through the passage 42. F ron'i thisv iv follows that it is desirablev to adjust theroller 96 relative to the saw soas to accolnin'odatethe belt-.93 to heads or' various lengths.

VThe ybefore mentioned conduit- .90 connected to yablower casing 110 the said casing containing a rotary ,'fan blower designed to be operated from the shaft 48 throug'hfthe medium of sprocketgears and a sprocket belt 111, Figure 2.l

The troughll of the elevating conveyer is free gto be ymoved vertically, ,but fisA held against` lateral deflection by fixed upright duide 112 onthe mainframe' 1, asbestshown 1nV Figur-e4, ,y "l

By lreference ltoFigure 12 it. will be under'- stoodthat the trough 11 ispivotallyunounty'ed on the shaft 192, and thatthe said shaft '1'2is carried'fby a bracketV on the shaft houslngof shaft 115, which also* ,has thereon one end of a bracket y113 while the opposite end vf vthe bracket V113 is mounted `onftheshatt 4,'andf that the shaft l2 isprovided with a beveled gearl .114` that. the said sha't'tl l2 maybe `driven fronithe shaft 4 through the the shaft 115 Inediumof the beveled gear 6 having abeveled ',gear .116 inflneshzwith vthe fixed on the gear 6, and a beveledgear 1,17 sha'ftflltand ineslred with the beveled gear 114. Manifestly this driving connection'is suehthatitwilldnot be disturbed by `vertical swingingof the trough 11 on thel shaft .12.

Inthe practical operation of myy novelgap.- paratus as described it will be noted asthe apparatus traverses a row o-[jrmilo maize the stalks are severed rfrom v. the, `ground l by the cutting mechanism described, Aand are moved rearwardly by .the fingery bearing Y n A l tothe 4said rear-` wardim0vir1g-0fthe Stalksathe Stallksvill'b? stalks the It will .be understood, however,

drawn downwardly'by the fabricated roller 25 in conjunction with th'eidler roller24, and in such action the rollers 24 and 25 will be assisted Yby the upper belt. 93 provided there are any stalks the heads of which are not down on the bottom of the trough formed by the beam 27, the frame 28 and the spring pressed links 32 before described. When the stalks reach the saw 74 the heads will be severed from the stalks, whereupon the stalks will be discharged by the before described mechanism including the belt 7 5 while the heads will be delivered by the belt 82 to the receptacle 9 or to the elevating conveyer 10 as the case may be.

Notwithstanding the practical novelty ascribed to and possessed by my nimproved header, it will be manifest that the header is simple and inexpensive in construction, is reliable in operation and is generally well adapted to withstand the usage to which harvesting machinery of corresponding character is ordinarily subjected.

I have specifically described the preferred embodiment of my invention in order to impart an exact understanding of said embodiment in all respects. I dopnot desire, however, to be understood as conhning myself rto the structure disclosed, my invention being defined by my appended claims within the scope of which structural changes'niay be made without involving departure from my invention,

Having described my invention, what claim and desire to secure by Letters-Patent, is y l. A header comprising an inclined trough with' a passage in its bottom, means for moving stalks rearwardly` in said passage, means for severing the stalks from the ground, 4means below the trough for moving severed stalks downwardly through said trough passage, means for severing heads lfrom the said severed stalks following the rearward and downward movements of the stalks, and overhead means for contributing to the downward movement of the stalks incident to the rearward movement thereof; the portion of the'trough at one side of. said passage including flexibly connected laterally movable links of angular cross-section, superposed spaced plates between which said links are received and for guiding the links in their lateral movements, means for pivotally securing the end links to a portion of the frame, a housing, and springs in the housing and backing the links, some of the said springs adapted to limit inward movement of the links while the other of said springs limit the out-ward movement.

2. The combination in a header, of a trough having a longitudinal passage for stalks, means below the trough for moving stalks downwardly incident to rearward movement of the stalks, means for moving the stalks rearwardly through the passage, and means above the trough for moving stalks ldownwardly relative to the trough; the last-named means being in the form of a'belt vadapted to engage and depress the stalks engaged thereby, a drive roller receivingV one end of said belt,v an adjustably mounted bracket for saidroll'er and being movable vertically for adjusting the belt ac-` cordingly, a frame including sides, a plate; extending between and fixed to said sides in a manner to overlie the lower stretch of said beltto preventdeflection thereof, and said belt being mounted for cooperation-with the first mentioned moving means.

A header comprising a frame, an inclined trough supported by said frame and being provided with a passage in its bottom, means for moving stalks rearwardly in said passage, means for severing the stalks' from the ground, means for moving severed stalks ydownwardly through said passage,'means for severing heads from the severed stalks followingl rearward and downward movements of the stalks, a trough for supporting the heads after disconnection of the same from the stalks, and arranged at a rearward angle with respect to the passage and in communi# cation therewith at one side of its rear end,

fingered means having its lingers arrangedl to travel above the inner portion of the last mentioned trough for moving the heads on this trough to the discharge end thereof, and means underlying the said discharge end for receiving the heads, and including an elevating conveyor mounted for vertical swinging movement, a yfixed upright guide secured to said frame and disposed upon opposite sides of said conveyor, adjusting means for said conveyor, and an anti-friction roller carried by said conveyor as and for the purpose specified. j

1t. The combination in a header, of a beam forming one side of a passage and being stationary, a frame including a guide disposed at the opposite side of said passage, a housing` underlying said guide, a movable passage side madeup of a plurality of flexibly connected right angle shaped links having a portionarranged in the guide and the remaining portion disposed in confronting relation with respect to said beam, and springs working against each other, said springs being secured in sai-d'housing and to said links respectively whereby'said movable passage side is yieldably the beam. .n

5. A header comprising a frame, an inclined trough with a passage in its bottom and securedfto saidframe, meansfor moving stalks rearwardly in thepassage, means for severing stalks from the ground, means including cooperating rollers arranged side by side over the-trough passage for moving stalks downwardly through said passage inten j lll) supported with respect to n IBO 1,006,824 ,l .IB

cident to rearward movement of the stalks, -flared mouth, a trough forl supporting the means for severing heads from the severed heads after ythe disconnection of the same 15 stalks, means forV engaging stalks after severfrom the stalks, means for moving the heads ing of the heads and discharging such stalks on said trough to the ydischarge end thereof, from the apparatus, said last mentioned a blower' having a conduit arranged in its means including a plate ixed to said frame, discharge orifice adjacent to the discharge a pendent portion formed with said plate, end of 'said trough, and means for operating 20 superposed rods designed to press the stalks said stalk and head moving means at the against the pendent portion and having free same relative speed and from a common rear ends, a finger bearing belt mounted to shaft.-

have its fingers movable between lthe rods, In testimony lwhereofl aiix my signature, said rods and plate being shaped at their Y forward portions and cooperating to form a v Y WARREN B. JOHNSON. 

